Race to Save Azra
Chapter 4 of Azra's Tale
Being about a day of fire and flood, and a young bird's ruined wedding day.
Neither Azra or the rock golem knew what the white-faced red-cap came for, and neither of them knew the intentions with which he had taken Azra away. Neither of them also knew why the rock golem had not done anything to prevent Azra from leaving. The rock golem did not know why he could not move or resist when the red-cap came and took Azra away with his dirty claws for hands.
But the rock golem did believe that it was his own fault somehow. Either for his inablity to save her from being kidnapped, or his selfish inaction of not breaking the ice so that the selkie could come and rescue her. And the Rock golem did believe that whatever intentions the white-faced red-cap had for Azra it couldn't be good. He assumed that whatever her current fate was, it must be horrible, unless he did something about it.
Just then the rock golem hear the sound of a seal barking, turning around he saw the selkie had already punched a hole in the ice and were climbing up out of it. As they came out they took off their skins, turning into humans. Looking confused, because they saw no bird-girl, they walked over to the rock golem, who was standing up right in the shape of a human as well.
"You must hurry, the Bird-Girl Azra was stolen by a strange red-cap with a white skin. And I believe that it is my fault she was kidnapped." Said the Rock Golem, proceeding to explain what he had done to get her taken.
Without skipping a beat he began again, "We do not have time to discuss the situation anymore, I am going to unlock a very old spell that has been placed apon me, a spell that only my creator knew existed, and turn myself into two small magical stones. They will allow you to leap through the sky, they also produce a magical shield that will stop most incoming attacks, but be careful, they will not make you invincible. Now go. Follow those tracks if you want to find your bird-girl bride." With that the rock golem did as he had said and split into two small rocks. And so the rock golem sacrifice his life to redeem himself for his past selfishness.
The two selkie who had first found the rock golem, moved by his plea, found no other option in their minds but to do as he had asked and rescue the bird-girl. With the sorceror-prince(who was a very small and carriable person, but we'll get to that later) in hand, the selkie set off after the track marks.
Not knowing that she had allies who were now in pursuit, Azra, who was without hope, choose to sleep instead. Maybe she hoped that she could die peacefully in her sleep, or wake up and find herself back home. After all, even if she did manage to escape her captor, she could never find someone to marry her before the rising of the empty moon(which was that night), and so she might just turn into a stupid bird in the middle of the night and fly away. A fate she was not too pleased about, but she was already wondering to herself what life would be like as a bird, and as she dreamed of building nests and pecking at tree stomps, she was carried across the tundra to Bogarts fortress, hidden high in mountains, amoung the special red-barked evergreen trees, whose bark was used to make fire bursting arrows. There the Tundra Wolf Queen awaited her special servant, the White-Eyed AlexisLi?-cap, whose heart she had frozen in order to control, to return with Azra
Meanwhile, the selkie were at first very optimistic on their chase, because they could even spot the distant line of wolves when they were leaping through the air in pursuit. However they were not as fast as the wolves and it was not long before they lost Azra's capture's trail in some craigy hills. They did however sense the general direction of caravan, because six-legged wolves who can climb up walls do not have to worry about the curve of the terrain to travel, they could merely go in a straight line. If, of course, the selkie had not been seen or suspected to follow, and they believed correctly that they hadn't, then they would only need to continue on a direct course and soon enough find the captor's lair. They soon came to a strange forest with strange red-barked evergreen trees. A strange and dangerous forest filled with goblins and boogies hiding in the trees.
Not far into the forest, the selkie were attacked by a barage of arrows coming from what seemed like the trees themselves. But many arrows shrugged off the sheild created by the rock golem's magic, and none of them hit either selkie. Fearing the arrows, the selkie leap into the air, and peircing through the canopy, began to run across the tops of the trees. Of course this did not stop the arrows, because once the silent alarms had been sounded, all the gobliniods of the forest were up in arms firing and slinging and slashing at the selkie. Jumping around the tree tops, and running along the branches and scurrying along the forest floor, the selkie ran too quick for traps, and was soon playing cat and mouse with the whole goblin army.
One Goblin, who was very young and foolish, getting frustrated that all the arrows were bouncing off of a magical sheild, pulled out a forbidden red-barked arrow, one that was used to ignite enemy fortresses, and fired it at the selkie. It only bounced off them like any other arrow, but it did fall to the ground and nestle on the forest floor. Soon a fire was raging through the forest, a fire that the goblinoids were too scared or distracted or routed to deal with.
However before the news of intruders and the fire had not yet reached the Bogart who was not in his normal throne room overlooking its domain. He was in an old and hidden ceremony chamber waiting to meet his bride to be. Prepared for the marriage, in his most glorious war armor, the Bogart was presented with Azra by the Tundra Wolf Queen.
"Here she is, a fair maiden by anyone's standards." she said
The Bogart however was confused, Azra looked like less than a meal to him. But there was something still intriguing about her. Begrudgingly he nodded to the Tundra Wolf Queen, accepting her gift.
"Okay, I will take her as my bride." He said.
Azra, who was awake by then, noticed the sun setting through the hole in the ceiling, and made up her mind.
"NO!" She exclaimed, "I will not marry you, and I don't care if I do turn into a dumb bird, I would rather live free and stupid than spend the rest of my life like this, being shifted between cages."
The room went silent. All eyes were on Azra, but the first words of anger were not spoken at her. They were between the Bogart and the Tundra Wolf Queen, who launched into a deep arguement. Spewing curses and swearing oaths of violent deaths apon the other. Azra sat on the table and waited for the storm to end.
But before the two could finish their fight, the Tundra Wolf Queen's keen smell caught a quick sent. She paused, and under her breath said, "Fire."
The ceremony chamber was soon evacuated, with little care for Azra who was left, alone. The Goblins came rushing in to confirm the news of fire and fantastic invaders, and Bogart rushed off with his personal guard, to a secret underground hiding place. The Tundra Wolf Queen also rushed off to the top of a tower, in hopes that she could subdue the fire.
Calling all of the wind spirits she had dominated, she sent a cold wind to put out the fire. It did nothing but increase the fire's rage, and no amount of ice magic could stop its spread, soon the fire was surrounding the bogart's fortress, and the Tundra Wolf Queen was freaking out, summoning more faeiries and more magic and trying desperatedly to protect herself.
Savation however did not come from her, it came from the Selkie, who had seen the danger of possibly burning Azra, whom they assumed was being held in the ominous fortress. They climbed up the mountain that overlooked the valley(an old volcano, that had formed a sizable lake within its blast crater), and using an old selkie chain weapon, slashed through the stone in the mountain, ripping it open and creating a massive waterfall that poured into the valley, extinguishing the fire and washing away the goblin army and fortress and (possibly) the Tundra Wolf Queen.
As the water calmed down, they searched the washed up ruins of the fortress and found in a small swirling eddy, Azra lying unconscious on the dome of the ceremony chamber, an ancient elven building that the mud and wooden fortress had been built around. She was safe and unchanged by the rising of the empty moon.
She woke up to the selkie. Seeing them and remembering her situation, she quickly pleaded to them, "Please I must be married right away, because I promised I'd marry that prince of yours, if I do not do so before the empty moon rises, I will become a stupid bird, so says my mother and sisters and the wimmin of my people."
"Well," Said a sea otter, "I do not mean to say that your mother and sisters are liars, but you do not seem like a dumb bird to me and the empty moon has already risen. Maybe you've already been married to someone while you didn't notice." "I know I am not, because I refuse a marriage." She knew in her heart that she had not been married in her sleep, so she realized suddenly that the story of bird-people who turned into dumb birds because they didn't get married was maybe something said to scare young birds, and prevent them from promising marriage too foolishly.
"And who are you," She added quickly, asking about an orange sea otter who was sitting on a selkie's shoulder.
"I am Kipoko, and I am the sorceror-prince of the sea of endless storms, although my form is not menacing, I rule the magic of my realm. And do not worry about your promises of marriage, the selkie had played a trick on you. I do not ask for boons of such magnitude. I help most sailors and wrecked ships come to shore, and would have helped you out of your situation as well. We may live in a cruel sea, but it doesn't reflect in our hearts. We do like mischeif however, and you seem to be a simple victim of it."
Azra felt a bit foolish but relieved to be alive and unmarried.
See also
— AeGeylwynd? - 28 May 2003
